


Violets and Carnations

by Loki_Slytherin



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Gay Character, Canon LGBTQ Female Character, Canon LGBTQ Male Character, Canon Queer Relationship, F/F, Fake Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt Cheryl Blossom, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Mentioned Sappho (fl. 600 BCE), Queer Character, Queer Culture, Queer Themes, References to Oscar Wilde
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29351799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Slytherin/pseuds/Loki_Slytherin
Summary: The laws around LGBTQ+ rights are preventing Cheryl from raising Juniper and Dagwood. Unless she can convince them that she isn't gay.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Original Charles Smith (Riverdale), Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Kevin Keller/Original Charles Smith (Riverdale)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 30





	1. The proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was going to have to get married.
> 
> She was going to have to get married: to a guy.
> 
> She was going to have to get married to a guy. A specific guy, to be precise, she was going to have to get married to Charles Smith.

The tears had finally stopped flowing from Cheryl Blossom's eyes.

In a very short space of time, she had lost everything.

Over the course of a year, LGBTQ rights had been stripped back completely. Conversion therapy was legalized. No marriage. No adopting children. Can get fired simply for love, and will get fired from government jobs. This was Cheryl's nightmare, and she wished she could still stand up proud.

If not for Juniper and Dagwood, she would not deny who she is. If not for her niece and nephew, she would stand tall and proud. If not for the babies, she would march to stonewall and trigger new riots. But she could not do that.

And so, with a heavy heart she hurried down the lane. The rain fell down on her, covering her in water. Water that felt more like tears or blood. God, she felt like such a traitor. The wind howled around her mournfully, begging her to think of a different solution. But she couldn't. If she wanted custody of Juniper and Dagwood, she was going to have to go through with this last resort of a plan.

She was going to have to get married.

A year ago, Cheryl had secretly always wanted to get married. She wanted a red wedding theme, with rainbow flowers, and a long red dress. She wanted a glorious wedding ring, and an elaborate cake. And she wanted to be marrying Toni. But that was all a useless dream, a hopeless fantasy that could never happen.

She was going to have to get married: to a guy.

Cheryl knew she wouldn't marry someone who actually held attraction for women. She also knew she would be very open and honest with her fiancé. If she was open and honest to them, then it was less like she was completely living a lie. Deciding who to marry was tricky. Her initial thought had been Kevin, but he refused, saying that he intended to remain proud of who he was and not hide. Which had left only one other person Cheryl could think of who might be willing to do this. One person who would do anything to protect Juniper and Dagwood.

She was going to have to get married to a guy. A specific guy, to be precise, she was going to have to get married to Charles Smith.

She walked up to Betty Coopers house and prayed that it would not be anyone to annoying to open the door. FP, she could handle. Jellybean, she could handle. Alice pissed her off to no end. As for Hobo and her cuz, she really really hoped they weren't the ones to open the door. She didn't want s either of them, but especially not Betty, to see her like this.

She slammed the knocker down onto the door, hoping that someone would hear her soon. It was bitterly cold outside. Cheryl was fairly sure that she was about to turn into Olaf the snowman if they didn't hurry.

"Hi. What are you here for?" Charles opened the door looking decidedly bored.

"You and I need to talk." Cheryl demanded.

"Right. Okay. Should I ask what about?" Charles asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. not yet. I need to talk with you somewhere private though." Cheryl said, folding her arms.

"There's no one else in the house. Jellybean is with Ricky, Alice and Fp are at their work, and Betty and Jughead are off doing I don't even want to think about it. Anyway, the house is empty, so come in." Charles said with a wince on the part about Betty and Jughead.

Cheryl led the way into the living room.

"I want us to get married." she said.

"Excuse me?" Charles said, and Cheryl could tell just by looking at his face that he was shocked.

"Alice refuses to take Juniper and Dagwood. Betty can't look after them with schoolwork as well. Polly is in a mental ward, and Jason, Hal and Clifford are dead. You and I currently can't adopt them, which means they'll end up with my demon mother. I can't let that happen. You are the twins uncle too, surely you want them safe." Cheryl finds herself pleading.

"It would be a marriage of convenience. A marriage of technicality. A marriage because this world is a really, really shitty place. It would be little more than a scribble on some paper. You could keep seeing whoever it is your seeing, I could keep seeing Toni. All the adults in this cursed town have committed adultery, I doubt that any other variation of Hal Cooper would come around trying to kill us for it. You would move into Thistle house, separate bedrooms, separate bank accounts, separate lives. We would be doing this for the twins."

"Cheryl, I will accept. Perhaps this way I will not lose my job. I am in the gutter, there is no lower I can sink and marrying you will not lower my lacking sense of morality."

"We are all in the gutter, Charles, but some of us are looking at stars." Cheryl bit out.

"Wilde. How very apt. I suggest we do a better job at concealing our identities, however." Charles muttered.

"Of course."

"Talk me through our wedding plans then. Let me guess, all red?" Charles asked, and Cheryl presumed that Betty or Jughead must have told him about her obsession.

"No. I am no longer the girl in red. We need a perfect wedding, in a church, white dresses, everything needs to look the part. I want Betty and Toni as my bridesmaids. Hermione, as Mayor, can do the vow reading part, you know, the official part." Cheryl says, crossing her arms.

"Have you told Toni on your plans?" Charles asked.

"Yes. I could never lie to her, and I could never hurt her. This will do nothing if not help her public standing." Cheryl said. "I approached her with the idea at the very beginning. She isn't happy about it, but she respects that it is for the best and understands that my love for her is no weaker."

"We should have violets and carnations as the flowers. It would be far mire subtle than rainbows, and it would just feel like something special and true to us. If we must hide our true faces from the world then let us not hide our faces from our souls." Charles suggested.

"Violets and Carnations. Sappho and Wilde. I like that." Cheryl said.

"It surprises me somewhat that you are so willing to hide who you really are. I would have thought you would be more like Kevin in his decision." Charles comments, a slight frown laced across his face.

"I have spent my entire life lying to people. I wore a face of make up and smiles when I stepped onto the ice. If I can keep smiling when walking to my suicide, I can keep playing straight. It is not so hard, not really. Almost no harder than wearing a mask at a masquerade. It is necessary."

"It is necessary. For our Niece and Nephew."

"May the world become a better place, even if that requires another stonewall. We will never truly give up, merely bide our time."


	2. Romeo and Juliet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles and Cheryl get married

"Cheryl. Are you okay?" Toni asked her.

"I don't know, TT. This was supposed to be a magical day. This was supposed to be us walking out there, perfect in every way. This was supposed to be us getting married. These vows I have to make to Charles, they feel so fake and meaningless." Cheryl said.

"Don't cry babe, you'll smudge your make up. They are meaningless, Cheryl, that's the point. Your doing this for Juniper and Dagwood. It is the right thing to do. Your making choices that any good mother would make, and your proving to the world that you can look after Jason's babies." Toni said, holding Cheryl's hand in her own.

"I don't know if I can go through with this. It just feels so wrong. It feels awful."

"Just pretend your doing it for the audience. You're playing a role. It isn't any different from when you played Heather Chandler or Carrie White. You weren't actually them, you were just showing the world you were them. This time, your Juliet with Paris."

"Paris doesn't actually get married to her, TT. She fakes her death rather than marry him. She's already married to Romeo at that point. And then they die, they both die. I don't want to die, Toni, I don't want you to die, I don't want me to die, I don't want Charles to die."

"Cheryl, we aren't in Romeo and Juliet. We aren't them. This is our story. Our fate isn't written in the stars, we aren't fated to be forever doomed." Toni says.

"I know that we aren't them. But the Blossom's are cursed. Our family has caused nothing but pain and known nothing but pain. I will never be happy. The Blossom's are the core of Riverdale. The pain this town feels is my fault, and I must suffer for it. The people around me will never be happy."

"Curses aren't real babe. No one decided that all Blossom twins must die. Your ancestor didn't steal king Herrod's crown and condemn you all. Your family is messed up, but no worse than anyone else in this town. Cheryl, what's happening isn't about you. It isn't your fault. The laws are stupid, but they aren't just about hurting you."

"Maybe there is no actual curse. No reason. No written in the stars Macbeth style curse. But my Mother and the rest of those plague sores that are my blood will not stop hurting me, and the easiest way to hurt me is to hurt you. Which is why I have to let you go."

"Let me go? No, Cheryl, please. I know this is hard, but it isn't forever. Life will change and we can be happy again. Please don't do this."

Cheryl turned away, looking into the mirror, gazing back at her reflection, perfect in a gloriously tragic wedding attire. She tried to ignore the feeling that she was making the wrong choice. If she and Toni split up, Toni would be safer.

"After tonight, you need to leave. I love you Toni, and that's why after tonight, I never want to see you again alone. I can't be with you. I'm sorry."

…

Charles rolled his eyes as Jughead tripped over.

"Ah, shit." Jughead muttered, pulling himself up off the floor.

"Mood." Charles muttered, almost wishing he and his brother could swap places, swap lives, that it could be Jughead about to walk out to the alter, and that it would be Betty as the bride instead of the bridesmaid, and that it would be Cheryl to stand behind her. Or else it would be a marriage between Charles' sister and Cheryl's brother. That marriage would certainly have prevented this situation.

Charles almost wished it could be Chic on the alter. Sure, he had no contact with Chic any-more. He had not spoken to his boyfriend for quite a while, and certainly not since the whole gargoyles incident. Chic was in prison, and even if he wasn't, there was no way for them to get married. But deep down, Charles still loved Chic.

"You ready brother." Jughead asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Charles muttered. He was not prepared, but there was little choice he had. He had given Cheryl his word, and he would not back out now.

Charles walked up to the alter, barely paying attention to the cheering crowds. He catches his mother's eye and immediately looks away, wondering if she knows this all just a facade to protect the babies that she refused to protect.

Charles watches as Cheryl walks down the aisle. Her white dress flows behind her, traditional in every way. Her long ginger hair flows in ringlets down her back, and the bouquet of violet violets and green carnations clasped in her hand adds the only dash of colour other than Cheryl's hair and lips.

He can tell she's been crying, and he hopes the audience sees the tears of pain and shame as tears of joy. It would not do them any good for the town to be talking about their broken marriage before its even official.

Cheryl joins him by the alter, and she meets his eyes. In her eyes he can feel reflected the emotions in his own. The emotions they are both feeling are not emotions any one should feel on their wedding day. They are more similar to emotions felt at a funeral.

Hermione Lodge begins to read out the official parts. After far too long of droning on about legal shit, she comes to the point of no return.

"Do you, Charles Forsythe Smith, take Cheryl Marjorie Blossom to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Hermione says softly.

"I do." Charles whispers, forcing the words out of his mouth.

"And do you, Cheryl Marjorie Blossom..." Charles zones out as Hermione and Cheryl say their part. He accidentally met Toni's eyes and the guilt he feels is threatening to overwhelm him. It should not be him here. It should not be the name Charles Smith being said. It should be Antoinette Topaz.

"I do." Cheryl says, cutting through his thoughts.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Hermione says, unaware how despaired Charles and Cheryl both felt at her words.

Charles kissed Cheryl and was unsurprised by how numb the kiss felt. It was a kiss of two friends. It was a kiss between actors on a stage, a kiss between a mother and her long lost son, between a twin and her brother. There was no passion behind the kiss, no wondrous magical feeling. They were up on a pedestal, kissing before a raging audience, and when the bright lights dimmed there would be no more romance. Just two people trapped in an emotionless marriage.


	3. Like a diamond in the sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's such a short chapter

Cheryl heard the babies wake up at around 1 o'clock in the morning and hastily rolled out of bed. Rubbing her eyes and casting a regretful look back at her warm duvet, she slipped silently out the room and walked downstairs.

The light from the windows casts strange shadows on the floor, the soft red carpet feels soft and warm against her feet, and the absence of Toni by her side made her regretful of her decisions earlier that day. Her red pyjamas still smell faintly like Toni.

Cheryl hurries into the babies room. It is the same nursery her and Jason shared whenever they were at Thistle house, although their nursery in Thornhill had certainly been grander. She pushes open the door, unable to hear either baby crying. When she steps into the room, Charles is already there, holding Juniper, gently rocking her back and forth.

"Cheryl, its okay I've got her. You can go back to bed." Charles says, humming a lullaby under his breath. Cheryl does not recognize the tune.

"Its okay, I'm used to them waking me up. I'll stay, you can go." Cheryl says, taking Juniper off of Charles.

"I'm going to go make coffee. Then I'll be back and you can go to sleep while I look after them. Do you want coffee? Or tea or hot chocolate or whatever?" Charles asks.

"No, thank you. And really, please just go back to sleep. I didn't mean to force you into being a full-time parent, they aren't your responsibilities." Charles shakes his head and leaves the room. Cheryl softly begins to sing herself, the voice more used to singing songs from musicals like Carrie or Heathers quickly adjusting to the toned down tune of lullabies.

"Twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder where you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky." Cheryl sings softly.

"I don't know that song." Charles remarks when he returns. "The sisters of quiet mercy weren't big on anything happy. The only lullabies they encouraged where from the older teens to sing us lullabies like oranges and lemons because it would make us pay our taxes or ring a ring a roses because it would make us fear getting sick."

"That's…. Messed up." Cheryl says quietly.

"I think there is very little about my life I could tell you that couldn't be counted as messed up." Charles said, a mournful ring to his tone.

Cheryl bit her lip and walked over to the window.

"My life has never exactly been perfect. The Blossoms, we looked like the perfect family. Everyone expected us to be flawless. They never saw how little we were cared for. We had only each other. When my father shot my brother, it felt like my life was over. I walked out onto the ice, I tried to end my life. And then I met Toni and everything changed. Despite everything that happened to me because of my love for her, I still love her. She is my light. that's why I had to tell her to leave me. She deserves better than me."

"Look, you probably don't want to hear this, but a while back I had a boyfriend. He and I fought and I left. He was messed up, doing dodgy online shit, constantly drugged out, he'd bring clients back to our apartment and frequently they'd get violent. One night he got high, and it made him violent. He and I fought, and I got knocked unconscious. I left, that morning, because I thought if I wasn't there, it might protect him. I thought I was a bad influence. I was wrong. Without me, he turned into a killer. He turned into the gargoyle king. Had I been there, I could have protected him and prevented that."

"What are you trying to say, Charles?" Cheryl asked softly.

"I'm saying you need to follow your heart. Go find Toni and be with her. Don't push her away."

"Now?"

"Yes. You need to go find yourself your girlfriend and make things right. Now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would Kevin and Charles be too much if an age gap for a ship?


	4. Our love is God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listening to girl in red while I write

"Cheryl?" Toni asked, walking over to her once girlfriend.

"TT. I made a horrible mistake letting you go." Cheryl says quietly.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought I was protecting you. But Charles and i spoke, and I realised that pushing you away wasn't going to protect you. I don't deserve your love, Toni, but you deserve to be happy. If you'll have me back, I still want you."

"Are you sure? I love you, I will always love you, but if your going to regret this tomorrow and send me away, then I can't accept. That would be too painful." Toni said quietly.

"I'm sure. I love you. I don't want to lose you again." Cheryl knelt down. "TT. I know this can't be official. I know we can't legally, and that technically I'm already married, but will you be my wife?" Cheryl said quietly.

"Babe, that isn't possible." Toni said mournfully.

"I know. Not yet. One day, I hope it will. It used to be. They changed the laws before, they can change them again. One day, America will realize her errors. On that day, we'll be able to get married. So, Toni, will you be my wife?" Cheryl said, taking Toni's hand in hers.

"Yes. Of course. Even if not in law, in principle I will be." Toni said, a sad smile dancing acros her face.

"Will you come back to thistle house with me? It shall be a secret, no one need know your there save for Charles and Nana Rose, but neither of them will say anything. Please? I miss you, I need you." Cheryl finds herself begging. She is scared that Toni will say no, that Cheryl has built too much of a wall to just break it down that quickly.

"I'd love to move back in with you, if you are sure that's what you want, and if you are sure it won't endanger your guardianship over the twins." Toni said.

"Of course I'm sure TT." Cheryl places her arm around Toni and pulls her closer, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Cheryl feels warmth run through her. Once again she feels completed. Toni is the part of her that she didn't know was missing.

…

Charles flicks through the TV channels in absolute disgust. Absolutely nothing good is playing. Riverdale's local channel is broadcasting his Mum making some boring announcement about the Ghoulies or something. Charles is fairly sure that the serpents are managing to succeed quite well now that the Sheriff and the person who ran the local news work for the serpents.

The only other channels are equally dull. An old rerun of Sabrina the teenage witch is running, and Charles is definitly sure that he has no desire to watch a stroppy spoilt girl wave a wand about while kissing a moderately attractive boy and fussing her talking cat. Not to mention, the aunts really get on Charles's nerves.

Other than that, there are a couple of little children's TV shows, a few boring news reports, and some old black and white film. Charles switches off the TV, almost wishing that he could get to sleep. The twins were both asleep, and Charles now had nothing to do. he'd go back to bed, except he knows from years worth of experience that sleep evades him once he has been woken up. It was not a habit that did him favours when he was growing up.

Charles tenses up when he hears the knock at the door. Vaguely wondering who the hell would be knocking on Cheryl's door at night, Charles is rather tempted to lock the door and call the police, but he also doesn't want FP to show up and there be nothing there and he have to explain why he had called him. If he called FP, his brother and sisters would probably be laughing about it for weeks.

Better to stop being a damn coward and open the door.

Charles hurried over to the door and pulled it open, praying to a god he didn't believe in that whomever was behind the door was not a killer.

Charles vaguely recognized the boy who knocked as being one of Betty and Jughead's friends. It took him a minute to recognize the boy as Kevin Keller. Stepping back, Charles vaguely muttered something along the lines of a come in, and stepped back.

"Um, no offence but its like the middle of the night. What are you doing here?" Charles asked.

"Looking for Cheryl. Fangs broke up with me because of all these new shitty laws and Cheryl never sleeps anyway. We basically drop in whenever we want, I've come at midnight before." Kevin said. Charles wondered why Cheryl hadn't thought to tell him that people dropped by to see her every hour of the night.

"Oh. Um well Cheryl's actually out at the moment. I told her to go and get back together with Toni." Charles said. "Feel free to wait for her. I doubt she'll be much longer, she's been gone for about an hour already."

Kevin followed Charles into the living room and they both stood there for a few minutes in an awkward silence.

"Do you wanna watch a movie or something while we wait?" Charles asked.

"Yeah that works for me." Kevin agreed, and they both sat next to each other on the sofa.

"I don't think there's anything good playing on the TV today." Charles said.

"Cheryl has a whole bunch of DVDs and video tapes in the cabinet over there." Kevin said, standing up and walking over to the cabinet. Charles followed him. He was actually more than a little surprised by the number of DVDs and tapes Cheryl owned.

"Also the Netflix password is girlinred blossom, unless she's changed it." Kevin added. Pulling out a handful of DVDs.

"Heathers, Carrie, Nightmare on Elm street, IT, does she own anything that isn't old?" Kevin muttered. Kevin offered the DVDs out to Charles to choose one.

"You choose."

Kevin put Heathers into the player and they both settled back on the couch to watch the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was It ever referenced in Riverdale? The others all were I think


	5. Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl arrives home late.... Or early.
> 
> And it's breakfast time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, a really short chapter. I'm sorry.
> 
> Also I'm British so while I am trying to Americanize the language I'm using there may be some errors, sorry
> 
> And final pint is that this site is set early season four. However, Kevin is going to be 18 so the age between him and Charles isn't too weird.

Cheryl didn't arrive home until the break of dawn.

"Ahh, shoot. I'm sorry, TT and I went out for a walk by the river to see the sunrise." Cheryl apologized when she realised how late it was. Toni laughed a little.

"Oh, it's fine. Kevin and I had a good night. We watched Heathers and Carrie. He left half an hour ago." Charles said with a smile. Cheryl still felt a wavering thread of guilt. She probably shouldn't have abandoned Charles with the babies. Especially considering he had very little experience.

"Let me make breakfast. Do you like pancakes? Juniper and Dagwood love them, although it usually ends in a food fight." Cheryl offered by means of an apology.

"I do like pancakes." Charles said. "Do you want me to help make them?"

"Better not to offer. Cheryl is rather territorial in the kitchen. I tried to bake a cake with her and it didn't end well. Better to let her cook." Toni said with a teasing smile on her face. Cheryl blushed slightly, a little embarrassed.

"Well, I will go and get the twins ready." Charles said, leaving Cheryl to her thoughts.

Cheryl walked into the kitchen and began making the pancake batter, pouring flour in with sugar and bananas. She used to use eggs, but last summer Cheryl had gone vegan. Bananas worked just as well as eggs. Cheryl pours the mixture into the pan in small amounts, and lent back against the counter. Toni came in.

"Hi. I won't get in your way." She said, pulling towards Cheryl kissing her on the lips. Cheryl kissed her back, warmth spreading through her body, igniting her senses. Her skin tingles with fire, her nerves burn with electricity. Her senses are somehow both numbed and enriched. She feels alive. Wondrously alive, more alive than she ever felt before.

…

Charles woke Juniper up first and got her dressed into a pair of miniature dungarees. He placed her back in the cot and got Dagwood dressed into a sweater and pants.

"Hey little one." he spoke to Dagwood when the boy began to whimper. "Hey, come on. don't cry, please don't cry. Do you want to come eat pancakes? Shh, let me just get this sweater on. Come on Dagwood, shh now. Dagwood's a stupid name, isn't it? Cheryl and I will find a nickname for you. I know, my sister was a little crazy when it came to naming you and Juniper." Charles felt a little bad calling his sister crazy when she had been being brainwashed by a cult.

But then again, his mother, Betty, Cheryl, Kevin and Toni had all stayed with Edgar and they had managed to refrain from naming anyone Dagwood.

Charles picked up both the babies, one in each arm, and carried them downstairs. He could smell a rather burnt smell coming from the kitchen. He hurried into the kitchen to find Cheryl and Toni kissing rather passionately while the pancake in the pan was lightly smoking.

"Cheryl… I don't know if you mean to copy my brother and my sister in burning down their childhood homes, but the pan is smoking." Charles said, remembering the fact that Jughead burned down his trailer, and Betty attempted to burn down the Cooper- Jones house, and forgetting the fact that Cheryl had already burnt down Thornhill.

"Ahh, shit." Cheryl muttered, detaching herself from Toni and walking over to the pan. She threw that pancake in the bin and poured some more batter into the pan. As she did that, she placed some of the already cooked pancakes on a plate and handed them to Charles. Charles settled Juniper and Dagwood into high chairs and placed the plates in front of them.

Five minutes later, Charles and Cheryl had finished their own pancakes.

"I need to go to work. I'll see you both later." he said to Cheryl and Toni, and went off to work.


	6. Don't bother looking down, we're not going that way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles goes to work, and Cheryl has to stay at home to look after the babies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for homophobia and homophobic slurs

Charles walked into the office and walked over to the box labelled evidence that someone had left there.

He pulled out a couple of tapes and put them in the cassette player. The first one is of Jason Blossom being shot. The second is of Betty killing Jughead. Charles is mildly concerned. The tapes are like most of the ones circling at the moment, just stupid tapes of people wearing masks.

Charles steps away from the screen, pretending he didn't just see a video of someone re-enacting his sister murdering his brother. That video was incredibly disturbing.

"Hey mate." Charles' colleague walked into the building. He was slightly older than Charles, rather stuck up and arrogant, and a total idiot. That was Charles's opinion of him at least. While others may have found him bearable Charles was under the firm impression that no one who was a decent person would want anything to do with him.

"Hi." Charles muttered back, very definitely not in the mood.

"I heard you snagged yeh'self a girl. Got married. Is she good? I neve' thought you were the type to get married, your too much a wild spirit. I heard she is a high schooler? Like the hottest girl in Riverdale high." The man pressed on.

"Yeah. I mean she's 18 though, the marriage isn't inappropriate, she is of age, I'm not a creep." Charles said, feeling decidedly guilty about talking about Cheryl like this.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Most of the other FBI are jus' glad you got a girl. Some were suspectin' you were a bleedin' fag." he spat on the floor in contempt. "Not me though. I said, "Nah mates, yeh don't know 'im like I do. he's not a queer-"

"Yes, thank you. I'm sure my marriage should do make them understand that I am not gay. Lets look at some evidence now. I presume you found a new lead and that's why your here?" Charles tried to keep the stony impression off his face. Punching a fellow co-worker would probably get him fired.

"Ah, yeah. Got this tape off of a Miss Ethel Muggs. Her Mother turned it in. found it in the teens room. Not sure what it is, she wouldn't say. Anyway, I need to get back to a town that isn't this dump. See yah later."

As soon as he'd left Charles put the tape in the player. Once it turned on he rather regretted it. No one, just absolutely no one, wants to watch a tape of their half brother naked with their half sister. Charles turned off the tape quickly and called Jughead.

…

Cheryl Blossom's morning had been nothing short of awful. Toni had left to go to school, and Cheryl had quickly realized that Nana Rose was not in a good health today, and could not be trusted with the babies.

So Cheryl settled herself down in front of the TV, placed a Disney movie on, and settled back to a day of baby sitting.

As the twins watched the movie, Cheryl began to paint something. She didn't have much knowledge particularly, but she was surprisingly talented with a brush. She began to work painstakingly, painting a picture of Toni and herself together, kissing. They were getting married in the painting. She painted violets all around the edge of the picture, leaving the centre as a picture of them together in black and white.

She took the painting upstairs to her room and hung it on the wall, next to her photograph of Jason.

As she gazed at the painting she added a couple of lyrics underneath the picture. "Don't bother looking down, we're not going that way." girl in red, we fell in love in October. Cheryl felt a small tear drip down her face. She missed being able to kiss Toni in public. She missed how perfect everything had been.

She turned away and walked down the stairs, her long red dress trailing against the floor. Tears flowed down her cheeks, mascara creating black lines down her face. Her long hair drifted out behind her. Cheryl knew she looked like the perfect picture of Blossom family pain. She was the queen of the damned, the goddess of the underworld. She was a Blossom, and her name haunted her.

Juliet may claim there was nothing to a name, but Romeo knew better, and Cheryl is certainly the Romeo.

As Cheryl walked into the room, she saw the twins gurgling happily. She smiled at them gently. Juniper looked at her and saw the tears down her cheeks.

"Mama? Why mama sad?" Juniper said.

Cheryl gasped. Never before had Juniper called her Mama. Cheryl felt warmth spread through her.

She would be a mother. She would be the best mother in all of riverdale, and anyone who said otherwise would be proved wrong.


	7. Grim graveyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex tapes and Graves

"Did you make any tapes of you and Betty?" Charles asked as soon as Jughead waked in the door.

"Excuse me? Tapes… like the tapes of the town? We're not behind those." Jughead says haughtily. Charles rolls his eyes. No, he definitely doesn't mean those tapes.

"Er, no. tapes of you too, like together, you know what I mean." Charles finds himelf blushing quite a lot.

"Oh. Oh no. no no no. shit" Jughead swore. "Brett taped us together. There was a video camera in my room and I didn't realize. He was blackmailing me to leave, and he swore he'd destroyed it. How did you find it?"

"Some girl called Ethel Muggs had it. I swear I am going to kill that fucking little -"

"Please refrain from killing Brett. Yeah, he's a dick. He did try to kill me and frame Betty and he taped us together and threatened us but we can just have him arrested. Please don't kill him." Jughead actually seemed to be begging him.

"Um, Jug, it was a joke. I'm not actually a murderer." Charles finds himself feeling the need to explain.

"Ah, Um, sorry. Its just everyone I know has killed someone and I just thought I'd probably better not allow you to kill someone. After all, Mr Cooper turned out to be a killer, and Mr Blossom, and Mrs Cooper shot Edgar and Mrs Lodge tried to get my dad to kill Hiram and my mum was running drugs and my my dad covered up Jason, and your boyfriend was a killer so I just sort of presumed. Sorry."

"I'm not gay. Chic and I were just room-mates. I married Cheryl, I'm not into-"

"I am not going to tell anyone. You don't need to lie to me. I know Cheryl's a lesbian and I know you are gay. You made no big secret of it until the law changed. I mean you weren't open about it, but it wasn't exactly massively hard to tell. I'm not going to out you."

Charles looked away, unwilling to either confirm or deny the truth. He didn't need to. Jughead knows what he is saying is true, there is no point making feeble protests. And there is something quite nice about having Jughead know the truth.

….

Cheryl Blossom walked out into the garden, holding Juniper and Dagwood in her arms. Both twins were awake, but they were being fairly quiet and not making too much of a fuss. Cheryl hurried away, her feet hitting the floor softly, the wet grass soaking through her shoes.

The trees around the house left shadows dancing up the side of the driveway, and Cheryl veered off the drive, following a well trodden but unmarked path. The path was muddy and slippery, and she stumbled as she walked. Eventually she made it to her destination.

The Blossom graveyard was relatively small. Cheryl had frequently gone there in her youth to hang out somewhere away from the house. There was something so wondrously peaceful about a private graveyard, perching to paint or read on the graves of ones ancestors.

But today, Cheryl would not be ignoring the threat of bad luck to fulfil her need for gothic aesthetic. today, Cheryl was taking the twins to visit their father.

The body was not in the grave, of course. The body had been given a Viking funeral down Sweetwater river. However, Penelope Blossom had exclaimed that no son of hers would be not given a proper grave, regardless of their final resting place.

Jason's grave was as empty as Cheryl's heart had been the day she learnt of his death.

The grave was well tended to, and today Cheryl refreshed the old roses that were beginning to wither with fresh ones. Red and black roses, together entwined. She placed her hand on the grave as tears dripped down her nose.

"Jason, I miss you. I miss you so much. I wish you could come back to me. I wish we could live happily forever, I wish that you had never left." Cheryl said crying openly.

Cheryl finished her speech and gazed up at Toni, standing a few metres away.

"Hi Babe."


	8. Kissed a girl

Charles walked out of the store at the end of the long day. His head was killing him, the whole mess which was Riverdale was getting on his nerves. The pounding pain between his eyes was throbbing, he felt as though his head was falling apart.

"Charles." a voice said from behind him.

Charles spun around, hand flying to the gun under his suit. It was Riverdale, you could never be to careful. Charles was sure he wasn't the only person who carried a gun, and at least this one was legal, unlike many of the guns others carried.

"Kevin." Charles gasped when he realized who it was. He felt rather dumb that he had automatically presumed anyone here was a threat. "You shouldn't be here. We can't be in public together. No offence. But I can't risk losing guardianship of Juniper and Dagwood."

"I know that. there's a secret gay bar underneath Pops, where la Bonne Nuit used to be. Recently, the serpents took it over, and Toni turned it into a safe place. No one there will out you. Come on, come with me? Please? The password to get in is "Judy Garland."

"Okay fine. I will find my own way there though. I'll meet you there in 15 minutes." Charles said, and set off walking, not looking back as Kevin went a different route. If Charles was being honest with himself, he was not particularly sure he wanted to go to La Bonne Nuit, he'd much rather stay at home. But he also wanted to get to know Kevin a little better.

When he reached pops, he was surprised by how busy it was. He was, however, pleasantly surprised by how few people he knew. It made it easier to avoid being recognized. He walked to the back, where he knew the entrance was.

"Password?" A lazy looking boy asked.

"Judy Garland." Charles muttered, feeling like an idiot.

The boy opened the door, and Charles stepped inside and walked down the stairs. He was impressed by the sight. Most of the people there were serpents, although Charles recognized a couple of teens from Riverdale high, Hermosa Lodge, and Mary Andrews.

He spotted Cheryl Blossom over the other side of the room, drinking something that was no doubt stronger than water. Looking around at the group, Charles was fairly sure that most of the people here were not of legal drinking age, but Charles was not about to ruin there fun. After all, most of them were legally adults, and Europe thought it was okay to let 18 year olds drink. If Cheryl was old enough to raise babies and get marries, then she was surely responsible enough to drink.

"You came." Kevin said, walking over through the crowd.

"Yes. I thought I may as well have some fun. And I didn't want to turn down the chance of seeing you again."

The two of them began to dance to the music.

…..

Toni had seen Cheryl in the graveyard, and immediately asked if she wanted to come to La Bonne Nuit. Cheryl had promptly agreed, on the basis that she could bring the twins. They had walked together down the street, hoping that passers by would presume them to be friends.

When they got to La Bonne Nuit, Cheryl had felt a pang of guilt that she had not invited Charles, or even told him about this place.

Cheryl had spent much of the first part of the evening looking after the twins, until Mary Andrews had seen her and came over.

"Cheryl, go have some fun. I'll watch the babies." she had offered, and Cheryl had been delighted to agree. She and Toni had changed in the bathrooms into something a little more atmospheric, and they got up on the stage. Fangs and Kevin frequently performed, and tonight Kevin was in the crowd, so Cheryl and Toni began singing as a group with Fangs.

"This was never the way I planned, not my intention" Cheryl sang. "I got so brave drink in hand, lost my discretion." Cheryl lost herself in the music, dancing along as she sang, dancing with Toni.

"I kissed a girl and I liked it," Toni joined in for the chorus. "The taste of her cherry chap stick."

Cheryl and Toni kissed each other, and the group below cheered for them.

Meanwhile, Kevin kissed Charles for the first time.


	9. Parents ain't always right

Charles kissed Kevin, and it was one of the most sensational kisses he had ever experienced.

He had not, in truth, had a great deal of kisses. Growing upon in the sisters of quiet mercy, any kiss between an unmarried girl and a boy would have been frowned upon, but a kiss between two boys or two girls would have been most harshly punished.

Every Sunday, the teachers there had preached about the unholy sinfulness of homosexuality. Their preachings had done nothing to straight-wash Charles, he realized he was gay when he was 14, and after that, never doubted himself. But even so, he had not dared kiss someone until he ran away. After that, he had met Chic, and had been in a fairly solid relationship, up until Chic's betrayal. Charles had kissed about five different people.

Chic's kisses had always been harsh and rough, desperate and greedy. Cheryl's kiss had been bland and meaningless. Kevin's kiss was gentle and soft, igniting fire within him, making him feel alive again, filling him with joy.

….

Cheryl, meanwhile, had kissed Toni multiple times before. Their first kiss, deep within the basement of the sisters of quiet mercy, had been weak compared to previous ones, and the one today was not exceptionally extraordinary. But there was love behind it, and for that, Cheryl was grateful.

Cheryl and Toni stepped down off the stage, leaving Fangs up there to begin singing a song. Cheryl could swear they'd sung every queer song ever written, but Fangs always found new ones. She had to admire his ability to find songs.

Cheryl walked through the crowd to Mary Andrews, still sat at the table, Juniper sat on the table, Dagwood on her knee. She was telling them some sort of fairy tale, although the more Cheryl listened, the more sure that the story was a mixture of other stories she was. After all, she was fairly sure that Cinderella did not marry Aurora.

"Hi. Do you want me to take the twins back now?" Cheryl asked Mary, taking a seat beside her.

"Only if you want to Cheryl." Mary said.

Suddenly, the door to the top banged open. Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge had burst in, both looking extremely stressed out, Jughead had a bruise across his cheek. (across the other side of the room, Charles vowed to later ask his brother how that had happened and go and return the favour.)

"You all need to leave. Right now." Veronica said, loud enough to be heard over the general clatter, which had fallen silent. "The police are coming. Apparently, they are under the impression that I'm running an illegal gay speakeasy. Which is true, but if they find you here..." Veronica trailed off.

"Shit." Cheryl muttered, picking up Juniper and Dagwood, and hurrying through the crowd, desperate to reach the exit. She had to get out. If they found her here, and she lost guardianship of the twins, she would never forgive herself.

She slammed into someone as they climbed the stairs, but eventually she pushed her way up into Pops. She sat down at a table with the twins. Charles walked over to her.

"You alright?" he asked, sitting opposite her and taking Dagwood out of her hands. Cheryl was secretly relived, she didn't need to clingy babies attached to her all the time.

"Yeah, I will be okay. I can't believe they want to shut down La Bonne Nuit. Someone tipped them off." Cheryl said. "Someone knew what was going on. Someone who knew about it told the authorities, presumably Hiram Lodge. He as mayor would have ordered it to be closed. Only he and the sheriff would have had the authority." Cheryl said.

And suddenly, Cheryl knew just who tipped them off. Penelope Blossom. She knew about it, because she accidentally found out about it when Veronica spoke to her about changing the brothel into a new speakeasy. And Penelope Blossom certainly had the motivation, getting Cheryl and Charles caught down there would have been ideal.

"Charles," Cheryl muttered. "we have to stop my mother. She's going to do everything she can to out us so she gets custody. We cannot let that happen."

"Operation bring down Penelope Blossom is on."


	10. Family issues

"As long as she is free, Penelope Blossom will try to bring us down. We have to stop her." Cheryl said.

"I thought you'd already locked her in a brothel." Charles muttered.

Cheryl felt a heat rise to her cheeks. Saying it like that made it sound a lot worse. The fire in the grate flickered, and Cheryl let her eyes drift over to it. She almost wished her mother had died when she burnt down Thornhill. Unfortunately, her demon mother had survived.

Cheryl looked around her. Se missed Thornhill. Thistle house just wasn't quite the same. The red couch she sat on was soft and comfortable, but it lacked the familiarity of the ones at Thornhill. The walls around her were pretty, but they lacked the elaborateness of the walls of Thornhill.

"My Mother took everything from me. She took Heather from me, she took my pride, she took my ability to say goodbye to Jason, she took my dignity, she tried to take my sanity. I will not let her take Juniper and Dagwood. I will not let her win any-more." Cheryl finds herself saying, the words spilling from her mouth, confessing what few people knew.

"Okay we turn your mother over to the police then. She's wanted for murder, it won't be that hard." Charles said, shrugging.

"Okay. I'm going to go to visit Mumsy, and then I'll call the police. She won't hurt me any more." Cheryl vowed silently. Part of her didn't want to turn Penelope in, although whether that was down to a desire to cling to the childhood memories of Penelope being nice, or down to Cheryl's own desire to take out much rougher forms of punishment, Cheryl wasn't sure.

"I'll see you later." Charles said, watching as she left.

Cheryl hurried out of Thistle house, walking the oh so familiar path to where her mother currently resided. She would have her mother arrested, and then she would be free.

….

Charles, On the other hand, was certain he would never escape from his past. Everything he did or said reminded him of what might have been. Whenever he saw Betty, he saw himself had he been raised by Alice. Whenever he saw Jughead, he saw a south side version of who he was.

None of his siblings fully understood Charles. He knew Betty suspected him still, and despite knowing why she was so cautious, and knowing that after Hal and Chic, he couldn't really blame her, it still hurt. Polly did not even know his name. They had not met, not properly met. Charles had seen her briefly at the farm, and later with a bomb strapped to her chest, but he had never actually had a conversation. Jellybean was fiercely independent, leaving the house at all hours of the day. Charles had spoken with her, but not for long, in Jellybean Charles sensed his own restless spirit. Jughead felt the most familiar to Charles. They shared a love of mysteries, Jughead didn't think Charles was a serial killer, and the few conversations they had had, Charles had had quite a lot in common with him. And Jughead knew about Charles's biggest secret.

Still, Charles felt like a complete outsider.

He would never be a part of the Cooper family, and he would never be a part of the Jones family. He was completely and utterly alone, raising babies that could be taken from him at any given moment, married to a woman he felt no attraction to, stuck in a job were co workers hated him and mocked him. Charles was a Smith, not a Cooper, not a Jones, not a Blossom. He was a Smith, with no real family.

Charles felt his phone ringing in his pocket. Talk of the devil and he shall appear, the number was Jughead's. Charles clicked accept, and raised the phone to his ear.

"Hello Jughead. Why are you calling me?"

"Jellybean was behind the tapes. We need to stop the investigation. I don't know, can you do that? She's just a child, and she's so young and scared. She did it to get more attention, I think Alice and Betty were stealing me and dad away from her. don't turn her in to the police."

"Don't worry, I won't." Charles said. He wasn't a complete bag of crap. He wasn't going to betray the only sister who knew his name and didn't hate him. He hung up on Jughead and slumped back into the seat, wishing he had someone to talk to. Then he realised he did.

Kevin.


	11. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter before the epilogue

Cheryl Blossom had called the police. She expected to have felt more relief. A sense of closure of some sort. Or perhaps guilt, because she was turning her own mother in. actually, she feels very little. She realizes that she has already let Penelope go. And that is perhaps the reason for her state of calm.

It is warm, the light spring air surrounds her.

She walks by the river and gazes into the depths. The depths that separated her ad Jason that fateful night. The water runs gently and smooth, insects buzz in the air, the scent of meadow flowers fills her nose. The gentle chirping of crickets and the hum of bees, combined with the trickling water make her smile somewhat.

"Goodbye Jason." She gazes down onto the river, and murmurs under her breath.

She pulls out her phone and texts Toni, telling her to meet her by Sweetwater river. Five minutes later, Toni is there. They join hands, and they walk, as the birds around them sing. Toni holds Cheryl's hand as they walk.

The sun climbs higher in the sky, bathing them in golden light and a warm glow. Cheryl decided that she never wants to grow old. She wants to stay here, in this moment, a timeless minute of wondrous peace. She wants to live an endless spring day.

Or rather, she wants the seasons to change but for her to never grow old. She wants spring days spent like this. Summer days spent on beaches by the sea, or else wearing short clothes and having car races. Autumn days spent celebrating Halloween and watching the trees grow grey. Winter days spent anticipating Christmas, huddled in houses wit fires while the snow piled up outside. Cheryl wanted an eternity of peace.

No more homophobia. No more hatred. No more Clifford Blossom, no more Black hood, no more gargoyle king, or Penelope Blossom. No more creepy tapes, no more irritating private school murderers. Cheryl wanted to live the rest of her life in peace.

She turns around to see Toni on one knee.

"Cheryl Blossom, I love you. More than anything else. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Of course, their marriage would not be immediate, could not be immediate. but still Cheryl agreed, living for the promise that one day, they would be able to be together.

…

"Hi Kevin." Charles said. They had agreed to meet at the edge of the forest for a walk.

The forest around them was not exactly peaceful. It was not, however, un-peaceful. There was something nice about walking through the woods like this, looming around them, the sounds and smells consuming them.

The spoke of many things as they walked, talking of everything that came to mind. They both needed it, the isolation they both felt mirrored back to each other. They spoke of how alone they felt. They spoke of how hard it was to face the daily homophobia. They spoke of how weird it was to watch parents getting married and being so openly in love.

They spoke of Cheryl and the twins. They spoke of the tapes, although Charles did not reveal that it was his sister who had created them. They spoke of the black hood and Jason Blossom. They spoke like two desperate souls who had been floating un-tethered in a raging storm.

And when the night was over, Kevin proposed to Charles.

They had only known each other for a month, but it didn't really matter, there would be time, far too much time, before their marriage could actually happen, and they both knew that, which was why Kevin proposed so early.


End file.
